There are times when the Earth’s surface disintegrates, forming abysses of varying depths. The most of the time, mother nature is accountable for these occurrences, but occasionally humans are also to blame. While mystics and scientists debate the origin of these spots, tourists simply visit them to take aesthetically pleasing photographs. I made a list of the scariest and deepest “portals” to the Earth’s core.
1: Spillway in a dam’s reservoir, Northern California
Northern California is the location of the man-made hole that is considered to be the largest in all of the United States. The spillway is really astounding given the volume of water that rushes down it in such a short amount of time. This structure was built roughly half a century ago. It has a diameter of 22 meters, and when the height of the reservoir reaches 134 meters, water starts to spill over the lip of the structure.
2: Guatemala City sinkhole
Not too long ago, this sinkhole was made. On June 1, 2010, a three-story factory and a house next to it fell down in one of Guatemala’s districts in the middle of the day. In its place, a big hole appears.
Researchers have found that the soil is full of limestone, which is easily washed away by water. People in the area are sure that the city’s broken sewer system is to blame.
3: Cerro Sarisariñama, Venezuela
In Venezuela, there are a lot of tea pits, which are flat-topped mountains that are the remains of an ancient plateau and are cut off from the rest of the world. There were huge sinkholes in it hundreds of years ago. The biggest one is on Mount Sarisariama in the state of Bolvar in Venezuela.
At the bottom of those holes, there is a living ecosystem that is separate from the rest of the world. Even big trees are there. Sounds like a real crime scene!
4: St. Patrick’s Well, Orvieto, Italy
The purpose of digging this well, despite the fact that it looks so sinister, was to supply the city with water while it was under attack. In addition to this, it was founded under the oversight of the local church.
5: Kimberley Big Hole in South Africa
Big Hole is a big mine in Kimberley that is no longer being used. It’s hard to believe, but people who were looking for diamonds dug this hole without any tools. Their hard work paid off when the famous De Beers diamond, which weighed 428.5 carats, was found here. This is how the well-known jewelry brand got its name.
6: The Belize Barrier Reef’s Great Blue Hole
The natural formation of the sinkhole resulted in its having a diameter of approximately 1,000 feet and a depth of approximately 400 feet. Divers with a thirst for adventure are drawn to this spot, but sadly, a significant number of them do not survive their time here. The hole is also known as “diver’s cemetery,” which is an unofficial name for the location.
7: Crater of Mount Yasur, Vanuatu Island
Yasur is a volcano that sits close to the most southeastern tip of Tanna Island and features a peak crater that is 400 meters wide. At the very least since the year 1774, the ongoing eruption has not stopped.
8: The Inverted Tower of Masons, Portugal
In the last century, a mysterious well was built in the Portuguese town of Sintra. It’s a way to move from darkness to light. The spiral staircase around the well represents going through the circles of heaven or hell, depending on which way you’re going.
9: Mutnovsky Ice Caves, Russia
Mutnovsky cave is different from other caves because it is an ice cave. It has been there for a long time and is close to the volcano crater that is on fire. The cave is really beautiful.
10: Gates of Hell (Darvaza), Turkmenistan
People created this gas crater. It is called the “Gates of Hell,” and the fire that started there in 1971 has been burning for more than half a century. While drilling, the ground collapsed, and natural gas started to leak out. The hole is over 200 feet in diameter and about 65 feet deep.